Day of silence announced in Turkey before presidential election

A day of silence was announced in Turkey on Saturday before the presidential election in the country.

The presidential election in Turkey has been scheduled for August 10, 2014. If none of the candidates gains 51 percent of votes in the first round, the second round will take place on August 24.

About 53,017,214 people in Turkey have the right to vote in the presidential election.

As distinct from the previous presidential election, the Turkish president will be elected by the people, not by the parliament as of 2014, according to the results of a referendum held in 2007. The Turkish president will be elected for five-year term instead of the previous seven-year term, according to the referendum results.

The presidential election will last from 08:00 to 17:00 (local time). The country has banned the broadcast of entertainment programs and the sale of alcoholic beverages on election day.

The official information about the course of the presidential election in Turkey will be provided only by the country's Central Election Commission (CEC) from 08:00 till 21:00 (local time).

The preliminary results of the presidential election in Turkey will be announced on Aug.11 and the country's CEC will announce the official results of the presidential election on Aug.15.